VIDEO: Lower Township Police Department Installs Vehicle Cameras

Posted:
Wednesday, October 14, 2015 12:00 AM EDT

CAPE MAY - Lower Township Police Department installed vehicle cameras on 13 of their patrol cars.“We equipped 13 of our patrol cars with the mobile video recorders," said Captain Martin Biersbach. "We believe in transparency in our community.”These cameras are rolling whenever one of the Lower Township Police vehicles are on, ready to catch anything that happens when an officer is out patrolling. The captain of police says not everyone was exactly thrilled of the idea of the new technology.“I think they were a little stand-offish in the beginning, like big brother is watching," said Biersbach. "When you’re on camera obviously you’re going to try to act your best, behavior wise. We feel like being able to have that accountability is something that the community wants.”Residents and visitors of Cape May agree with the new technology.“I think it’s a benefit for both sides, for the police as well as the citizens," said Bill Siebert, Cape May Visitor. "It protects both sides of the equation in my opinion.”Captain Biersbach gave us a look at what the camera catches during an officer’s ride along the streets of Lower Township. According to the captain, in just the few weeks of using these vehicle cameras, they’ve already had a few situations where the footage was helpful.“We’ve had a few situation where people perceive things on a call," said Biersbach. "Then they call us and say, ‘Hey what’s going on here.’ We’ve been able to go back to the cameras and see, you know what we are doing the right thing. And I think that’s beneficial for us.”Within the next year, the Captain hopes to add body cameras to capture even more footage when his officers are out enforcing the law.“I think this is going to give a lot of accountability to not only our officers but to the public,” said Biersbach.

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